Herbie Hancock - Living Legends

Awarded: April 2008
(b. April 12, 1940)

Herbie Hancock is an Academy Award and Grammy award-winning American jazz pianist and composer. As part of Miles Davis' “second great quintet,” he helped redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the “post-bop” sound. Later, he was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and funk. Hancock’s best-known solo works include “Cantaloupe Island,” “Watermelon Man,” “Maiden Voyage,” “Chameleon” and the single “Rockit.” His 2007 tribute album, “River: The Joni Letters,” won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second jazz album to win the award.